2002 marked the birth of Amare Stoudemire, that year's top rookie. But before the Suns big man came up the ranks, the highly anticipated arrival of that year's top draft pick pulled everyone's attention from Houston to China.
For the first time, a recognizable Asian stepped his large sneakers onto the wooden floor. I'm not talking about Wang Zhi Zhi. The 7'6 Yao Ming, a stellar center out of Shanghai took his talents from the CBA into the NBA and made the Houston Rockets look like another contender.
In the middle of the past decade, Yao Ming has been the root and the trunk of the entire Houston Rockets team. He carried them, alongside the great Tracy McGrady, to consecutive playoff appearances, which all ended crumbling down to their knees.
Primarily because of Yao, the Rockets resurfaced for the first time since Clyde Drexler joined Hakeem Olajuwon in delivering a championship to Houston.
Because of consistent frustrations out of the offseason, many consider the Rockets as a young and growing team whose time may come in the latter part of the decade. Alongside their promises, McGrady and Yao have carried the team in B+ seasons. Ba ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Alfred Garrido
Yao Ming, Fallen Dynasty: A Salute to the NBA Big Man
August 13th, 2011 by Alfred Garrido Leave a reply »
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